Columns & Contributors

On 07/12/2018 at approximately 1940 hours, a brown Pathfinder, driven by Margot McNally was traveling WB on Carmel Valley Rd E of Country Club Dr. Due to McNally’s high rate of speed and alcohol impairment she was unable to safely negotiate a curve in the roadway and crossed over the double yellow line onto the eastbound lane, directly into the path of a white GMC Suburban, being driven by a 69-yr-old female. After the collision both vehicles came to rest within the EB lane of Carmel Valley Rd and the GMC’s engine compartment caught fire. An off duty firefighter who arrived after the collision assisted the driver of the GMC to safety. McNally, her unconscious 16-yr-old passenger, who was not wearing her seatbelt and the driver of the GMC were transported to Natividad Medical Center. Alcohol was a contributing factor in this collision. We are working with Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) to determine where McNally and her passenger were able to obtain the alcohol. McNally’s passenger is currently in critical condition. McNally was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily injury. EB and WB Carmel Valley Rd were closed for approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes due to patient care, fluids in the roadway, vehicle recovery and the investigation.

Reminder: Seatbelts save lives and driving impaired is 100% preventable.

The Pacific Grove Police Department’s investigation of the terrorist threats left at the Pacific Grove High School is ongoing. Unfortunately, we continue to hear from parents that their children are afraid to attend school due to the threats. We know once the responsible person(s) are located, a sense of safety and security will be restored on the campus.

Today, we announce there is a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the threat terrorizing our community. We ask you to contact the police department if you have information that will help investigator locate the suspect.

There are a variety of ways to do so. You may contact the School Resource Officer (SRO) who works on campus, the department by calling the main desk at (831) 648-3143, or email pgpdrecords@cityofpacificgrove.org. However, if you wish to remain anonymous, call the anonymous Tip Line at (831)648-3159. Read more…»

Pictures are too graphic to run

The SPCA for Monterey County is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who abused an opossum in Sherwood Park near the Tatum’s Garden playground for children.

On March 6, an injured female opossum was found wrapped in a t-shirt in the park. The opossum had burn marks all over her body that appeared to be intentional. Due to the severity of the wounds, the opossum was humanely euthanized to end her suffering. Sadly, the opossum had recently given birth to six babies. Three of the babies were already deceased on rescue, one died on arrival at the SPCA Wildlife Center, and two had to be euthanized because they were too young to survive outside their mother’s pouch even with professional rehabilitative care. Read more…»

As you are aware, we have had three incidents of threats being written on our bathroom stall walls either in the girls locker room or in a bathroom in our main hall. The first two threats were general in nature although an adult connected with the school was named. This adult is aware of being named. The first threat said, “imma shoot up this school just wait on it…my shooter, he already got a plan.” The threat made yesterday said, “bang bang like florida on #walkoutday.”

We are still working diligently on this with PGPD and other law enforcement agencies and have continued interviewing girls who have used the bathroom with the threats written. If we are unable to find the culprit(s) quickly, I will cancel the Wednesday student walk out. In the meantime, we will continue to have added police and adult presence on campus. The police are releasing a media message with much of this same information today. Student and staff safety is clearly our number one priority.

Additionally, I made the following announcement today to students: Read more…»

For a week, the mushroom clouds left red dots on the astronaut’s eyes—bloody phantoms dancing in his vision, taunting him. Closing his lids offered no respite from the torment. It had been four days since the bombings stopped, but the fires raged on. Abrams knew it wasn’t healthy, taking every opportunity to spare a glance at the destruction below. But he couldn’t look away. He was determined to bear witness to man’s darkest hours. It was the least he could do, for the guilt was all-consuming. Floating above, watching Armageddon from the safety of their little palace in the sky. Abrams felt his stomach twist.

He was no less fascinated by his colleagues, 230 miles above the worst case scenario. Each astronaut coped differently. Topfsky had retreated into her calculations, murmuring about fallout and wind patterns. She hunched over hastily ripped notebook paper so filled with equations and notations that she’d begun scribbling over previous ones. Discarded pages spiraled around her now, as if she was the star in her own solar system. Florez’s diet had become irregular, to say the least. Caring too little to add water to powdered coffee and Kool-Aid, he scarfed them down dry—a nebulous cloud of brown and purple dust plastered to his face and followed him about. Even Dixon’s incessant toothy grin had long since been supplanted by a forlorn smile and furrowed brow, his light humor having descended into darkness and cynicism.

They passed over the half of the planet cloaked in shadow. The fires were more distinct against the black backdrop, flickering like torch bugs on a warm summer night.

Abrams was stirred by the sound of conversation, an almost alien concept as the hours passed, usually reserved for discussion of raw data and bleak hypotheticals. The buzz of consoles and the perpetual scratch of pencil lead had become white noise during their dark vigil for the human race.

“Ya spelled apocalypse wrong, darlin’,” chided Dixon. The towering Texan hovered parallel to the engineer, face-to-face but upside-down. His goatee and shaved head made him look right-side up. Topfsky’s eyes flickered, then she continued her scribbling.

“So I did. What’s it to you?”

He shrugged. “Ain’t the end of the world.” Dixon smiled weakly. Topfsky looked disgusted.

“What are you working on?” Abrams turned his attention from the window and pushed against a bulkhead, launching himself toward the other two.

Topfsky sighed. “I’m writing an account of all that’s occurred. The better question is— why aren’t you?” Abrams’s nose twitched. “What if ours is the only record to survive? Future historians might depend on our account… It might be all they have to go on.”

Dixon raised an eyebrow. “Never had ya figured as a writer, Topfsky.”

“Why so surprised?”

“Just always thought you wrote in binary.”

She pushed him away, enough to send him floating backwards, and tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. “Jackass…”

Red appeared beside her, scratching at his chin and rolling his eyes as the Texan flailed for a handhold. The man’s actual name was Clifford Kaznach. Dixon was responsible for the nickname—a not-so-subtle dig at Kaznach’s Communist connections, though the man-child insisted he was referencing Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Nevertheless, it caught on. Abrams suspected that even the Russian had taken a liking to it.

“God, I’d like to sew his mouth shut,” Red whispered in flawless English. He nodded toward the view of the destruction below. “And I wish we could draw the blinds, too, you know?”

No, I don’t, thought Abrams. “Yeah.”

“So I was just talking to Duvvur,” Red continued.

“Does the commander want another meeting?” Once the bombings had ceased, Commander Duvvur had called for a vote. Stay or go. Remain in orbit and hope rations—and the station itself—hold out long enough for a safe return, or attempt a landing on a toxic world. They had long since lost contact with Earth; the choice was theirs and theirs alone. For all they knew, the planet was, too. The debate was long and intense. Opinions were evenly split. In the end, Duvvur cast the deciding vote. They would stay.

Red had been in the minority. What’s the first thing you do when you hear your house is on fire? You run home, he had reasoned. But the blaze was only spreading. “No, the commander doesn’t want a meeting, but…”

Abrams eyed Topfsky. She appeared thoroughly immersed in her writings. Abrams knew her tricks well enough by now. “The aft.” Red agreed.

By now, the aft was in disarray. The sour smell of unwashed men and sudden indifference blanketed everything. Free-floating materials nestled in every nook and cranny. Crumpled papers and food crumbs, even wandering wrappers and packaging, drifted alongside the two sleeping bags affixed to the walls. Red and Florez spent a lot of time here. Years of training and a mission together had even left their disorganization symbiotic.

In the room’s corner, Dixon had stashed a contribution—a golf club, a shiny pitching wedge in honor of the swings Alan Shepard attempted on the lunar surface over half a century earlier.

Several scattered novels, Red’s favorites, glided throughout the compartment like circling vultures. Abrams snatched a book floating between a paperback edition of The Hunt for Red October and a tattered Agatha Christie thriller.

“From the Earth to the Moon,” he read.

Red moved closer. “You know what Jules Verne did, right? You know how the first three men got to the moon?” Abrams shook his head. Red took the book from his hands. “I’ll have to lend it to you sometime.”

“So what’s the problem?” Abrams asked.

“Rations.”

“I know, I know. We’ve gone over this a dozen times. Nine crew, only supposed to be six at a time.” The crew of Expedition 146—Abrams, Topfsky, and Sho—had arrived only three days before the first bomb fell. During this transitional phase, Expedition 144 hadn’t yet departed. The end of the world had been poorly timed. “We figured we’re good for about six months. By then…”

“But that’s if all goes well. Sadakov and I went over the math again. The numbers are worse than we feared. What we didn’t take into account was the real possibility of the station’s systems deteriorating. Or space junk. If satellites start failing at an alarming rate—there’s already enough debris in orbit, now it’s going to increase exponentially. If we can’t avoid it…”

“Lots of ifs.”

“I’m well aware. If bad weather hadn’t delayed your expedition’s launch. If final diagnostic tests hadn’t brought up that glitch. If I hadn’t been so damn sentimental as to insist on one more sunrise from space…” Red glanced down at the 144 insignia on his breast pocket. “I can’t help but feel we’ve overstayed our welcome.”

“You’re not blaming yourself—“

“You would have a better shot at survival.”

“And you would be an ash heap.”

Red rubbed his temples. “Six months at most, Abrams. And that’s while rationing to the extreme. That means hunger for half a year. And that’s if orbital decay doesn’t screw us first.”

“We’ll find a way. The bombings seem to be over. We’ll establish contact again, you’ll see. Surely someone will remember we’re still up here, eh?” Abrams hoped he sounded sincere.

What is this holiday really about? Gathering family and friends together, once a year, to overindulge themselves on food and drink (as they do throughout the year), and engage in time-worn repetitive Cliché’s about ‘giving thanks’ on this one day for what they were unmindful of all year, for the most part. All this while competing for attention with the football game on TV, and religious reminders of what undeserving sinners we are. Let us not exclude the mass marketers and their ‘Black Friday’ sales, to provide further distraction from the meaning of the holiday, in their pursuit of profits.

This should be the most meaningful holiday of the year. It is not a time to be on our knees in supplication for the frailties of human beings, but standing tall, on our feet, where the view is better, with confidence in our ability to survive the inequities of life and endure; to be thankful for everything that contributes to that survival, which is only a dream for the less fortunate and hopeless.

My generation, that survived the Great Depression of the 1930’s and the Second World War of the 1940’s, and more, endured because we were too busy applying ourselves to solutions that our daily survival depended upon, not whining or complaining about the problems. Most everyone shared the same problems. Complainers, without solutions, were met with derision, and were an unwelcome distraction. If we complained, without offering a solution, we were quickly reminded of the deprivations, hardships, and suffering that was going on all over the world, and how fortunate we really were for what we had. If we needed a helping hand, it was at the end of our own arm.

Growing up in those times, formed the foundation of my often repeated credo that you should ‘Do no harm’, and ‘help where you can.’

It was in helping each other, and not making things worse, that we worked our way through problems and overcame the difficulties that were constantly challenging us. Many of our friendships, and trust, came from this common effort. Such friendships are the brightest jewels in the crown of Humanity, and warrant the daily appreciation and the thankfulness that we celebrate but once a year.

It has been said that, “The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”

I, for one, am thankful for the friends and loved ones in my life, on a daily basis. They are in my thoughts when I retire at night, and first thoughts when I awake. I never feel alone.

I am most thankful for the life and health initially bestowed upon me by my universal parents,

Mother Nature and Father Time. I’ve tried to make the most of the gifts from the one (not always successfully), before the other, inexorably, takes them away. In spite of all the ways to meet one’s demise in this world, I’ve managed to survive (with some collateral damage) and become an Octogenarian, and able to see my three beautiful children and grandchildren grow up to become my greatest source of love and unabashed pride.

This is certainly something to be thankful for every day!

Al Estrada
Carmel, CA
Thanksgiving, 2017

On June 13, 2017 at approximately 9:30 a.m., Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Tide in Monterey reference a head-on traffic collision with injuries. One of the drivers, identified as John Mendoza, 20, of Marina, ran away from the scene. Mendoza was contacted a short distance away by a police officer.

Officers contacted Mendoza and he resisted arrest. Officers believe Mendoza was under the influence of drugs and he was charged with felony driving under the influence of drugs, felony hit and run, and resisting arrest. Read more…»

Facebook photo by Prof. Noelwah Netusil released by Reed College

The world is now aware of an alleged hate crime that took place on an Oregon train last week. A white supremacist confronted two teen-aged girls, one of them wearing hijab, and began shouting anti-Islam and racial epithets at the frightened girls. He shouted that they should go back to Saudi Arabia and should kill themselves. The girls moved to the back of the train. According to one of the girls, Destinee Magnum, who said they were ready to get off the train, three strangers intervened with the ranting criminal, telling the man that he “can’t disrespect these young ladies like that.”

The man instead attacked the three, stabbing them and sending “blood everywhere,” Magnum told reporters. She and her friend escaped the train and ran away. The perpetrator was captured and arrested and is facing two counts of aggravated murder, attempted murder, two counts of intimidation, and being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon.

Of the three Good Samaritans, Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, OR died at the scene. The military veteran worked as a technician for the city of Portland.

Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, of Portland, died at the hospital. It has come to light that Meche was once a student at Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, and would have graduated with the Class of 2012. He withdrew and finished high school in Ashland, OR where he was raised. He had graduated from Portland’s Reed College with a degree in economics last year and had just begun his career working at an environmental consulting agency.

The third victim, Micah Fletcher, 21, is still in the hospital being treated for serious injuries.

Sam Radseresht, a fellow student with Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche at Stevenson during those formative years, is now living in New York. He writes of his friend, “Tilly:” Read more…»

District Attorney Dean D. Flippo announced today that Charles Allen Holifield, a 56-year-old inmate at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, will be charged with the 1998 murder and kidnapping of 13-year-old Christina Marie Williams. Read more…»

Uribe crime

On March 23, 2017 at approximately 11:50 AM, California Highway Patrol, Marina Police Detectives, Monterey Police Officers, the Multi Agency Detail for Commercial Auto Theft (MADCAT), and the District Attorney’s Office Investigators assisted the Peninsula Regional Violence and Narcotics Team (PRVNT) Detectives with a search warrant in the 300 block of Berry Road in the Las Lomas area of North Monterey County. Read more…»

In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 18, 2017, officers were dispatched to a subject breaking car windows in the 100 block of Forest Ave. Witnesses provided a description of the subject to dispatchers and that assisted officers who located Bentley Palmer, 32, a Salinas resident. Read more…»

On November 23, 2016, Raul Melendez was the victim of a shooting homicide that occurred in the 600 block of Wave Street in Monterey. The Monterey Police Department (MPD) assisted by the Peninsula Regional Violence and Narcotics Team (PRVNT) identified the suspect in this homicide as Jorge Luis Mendoza and a warrant was obtained for his arrest.

The investigation determined after the shooting, Mendoza, an American citizen, fled to Mexico. MPD and PRVNT requested assistance from the United States Marshals Service in locating and apprehending Mendoza. On March 16, 2017, Mendoza was arrested in Mexico by local authorities. On March 18, 2017, Mendoza was transported back to California and turned over to MPD and PRVNT. Mendoza was booked in the Monterey County Jail for murder and his bail was set at $1,300,000.

On February 9, 2017 at approximately 11:54 a.m., Monterey County Probation Officers and Pacific Grove Police Officers assisted Peninsula Regional Violence and Narcotics Team (PRVNT) Detectives with a probation compliance search in the 400 block of Grand Avenue in the City of Pacific Grove.

During the search, Detectives located five firearms, high capacity magazines, ammunition, approximately two grams of methamphetamine, narcotics paraphernalia and over twenty morphine pills. Four of the firearms were reported stolen out of Monterey. Read more…»

As we work on the 2016 Year in Review, we have uncovered a couple of pieces which have been lost for a number of years due to the vagaries of the computer medium and the lack of organization on the part of the editor. This piece was once one of the most popular on our website. We are happy to publish it again, as we have located the original submission by the author. Read more…»

On Jan. 11 James Kline, 62, was convicted of financial elder abuse and grand theft.

In the summer of 2015, Kline, a handyman, did various home repairs for an elderly victim, then age 87. He went with the victim to her credit union to assist her in obtaining an ATM card. Over a period of several weeks, he unlawfully withdrew over $2000 using the ATM card he helped the victim obtain. The victim’s son, who was monitoring his mother’s accounts, notified the credit union of these abnormal withdrawals. The credit union then notified the Pacific Grove Police Department of this suspicious activity.

Sgt Rachel Beuttler of the PGPD began investigation into the thefts which ultimately resulted in the conviction.

Kline is scheduled for sentencing on February 24, 2017 before Judge Pamela Butler and faces a maximum of 4 years in local jail pursuant to realignment. 

Early Tuesday morning, December 19, 2016, Pacific Grove Police Officers were dispatched to an address on Arkwright Court in regard to a stabbing that occurred inside of an apartment. Within minutes officers arrived at the residence and found the victim, a 40-year-old female, inside of the apartment. During the investigation, officers arrested a relative of the victim and he was charged with attempted homicide. Nanak Dakota Tatum, 18, was booked at the Monterey County Jail. The department worked in conjunction with the District Attorney’s Office on this case. Commander Lakind stated, “The Pacific Grove Police Department works on various crimes throughout the year. Rarely do we have a crime of a violent nature. The department takes extra care and precaution on this type of felonious assault.”

If you have any information about this crime, please contact the department at 831-648-3143.

On Wednesday,November 23, 2016, at approximately 1:41 am, the Monterey Police Department (MPD) responded to the 600 block of Wave Street in Monterey on the report of gunshots being fired. MPD arrived and located one victim at the entrance to the Cannery Row Parking Garage, located in the 600 block of Wave Street.

The victim sustained several gunshot wounds and was transported to the Natividad Medical Trauma Center in Salinas, where he succumbed to his injuries. The victim was identified as Raul Melendez, 28 years-old of Monterey, California. Read more…»

Public Help Sought

On November 14, 2016 at 1:32 PM, Monterey Police Officers responded to a report of an attempted child abduction at the Monterey Library, 625 Pacific Street. Two siblings, ages eight and six, reported an adult male attempted to lure the children into his vehicle, which was parked in front of the library. The children fled to Monterey High School where they reported the incident to a staff member.

The suspect was described as a Hispanic male adult of middle age, with shoulder length white hair and a long white beard. He had a tattoo of a rose on his neck and wore several bracelets and rings on both hands. The male was last seen driving toward Larkin Street in a newer model white coupe, possibly with black graphics on the door panels, which had damage to the interior seating surfaces.

Anyone who may have seen anything or may have information about this case is asked to call Detective Sergeant Blair with the MPD Investigations Division at 831-646-3814, the MPD General Number at 831-646-3830, or the confidential tip line at 831-646-3840.

On February 2, 2016 two individuals pushed their way into the home of an elderly Carmel couple. Once inside, the still unidentified intruders demanded items of value as they made threats to the elderly couple and waved around a large knife. Read more…»

On Monday, October 10, 2016, at approximately 4:13 am, Seaside police officers and Detectives from the Monterey Peninsula Regional Violence and Narcotics Team (PRVNT) responded to the 1200 block of Ord Grove Avenue in Seaside on the report of a shooting inside a residence.

Responding officers located an adult male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Read more…»

In the early morning of September 25, 2016, an officer of the Pacific Grove Police department observed a suspicious vehicle in the area of Congress Ave. and Sunset Dr. It was discovered that the vehicle had stolen license plates on it. Officers contacted the occupants as the vehicle stopped in the 700 block of Marino Pines. Further investigation revealed the vehicle was stolen from Salinas.

A search of the vehicle revealed stolen property and drugs. Both occupants were arrested on charges of possession of stolen property, possession of controlled substances. They were booked at the Monterey County Jail. Arrested were Ryan Ralston, age 27 and Dennis Ortiz, age 24, both of Salinas.

Sept. 12 at 7:12 PM, Monterey Police Officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Grace St. regarding a strong-armed robbery. The victim was struck in the back of the head and knocked to the ground. The suspect stole the victim’s purse and fled the scene prior to police arrival. The victim sustained minor injuries to her face and head. Read more…»

Per the Administrative Hearing Officer’s decision: Bruiser has to move outside Pacific Grove, and his owners, the Hanes, have to properly dispose of all poop at the property and give written proof to the City, all within 30 days. Penalties: $50/day for each day the pig remains after 30 days from July 21, 206. Hanes have to pay admin costs of $467.50 to the City on or before August 20, 2016.
Appeal is possible as is judicial review.

Findings: The City classified Respondents’ pig as a pet, not requiring a special permit. In September of 2014, Complainants called police to complain about offensive odor of feces coming from Respondents’ yard and to ask about what they could do.  Offensive odor of feces and flies recur in Respondents’ yard. Respondents have allowed accumulation of feces to occur in their yard in a manner that creates a nuisance.  Respondents’ travel out of town for several days at a time, leaving their animals at home. Respondents were aware of odor complaints before issuance of the Order. Respondents were aware of their obligations under PGMC §10.08.050 before issuance of the Order. Respondents were informed of possible methods of abating the nuisance on more than one occasion. Respondents improperly disposed of animal waste in their yard waste bin.  There is no direct evidence addressing how Respondents’ animal waste might become a danger to the environment in accordance with PGMC §9.16.110, waste disposal prohibition.

“Even though miles separate us from Dallas, we want the Monterey Bay community to have a way to pay their respects for the fallen officers,” said an official of Mission Mortuary.  Mission Memorial Park & Seaside Funeral Home and Mission Mortuary believe that all lives matter.  That is why they will have register books available for Monterey County residents to sign in support of five police officers slain in Dallas Friday night. Read more…»

Cooperation among Peninsula law enforcement agencies resulted in the arrest on Wed., June 29 of two armed suspects in a pair of recent robberies. Read more…»

Alfred Powell has been ordered to stand trial for the December 9, 1982 murder of Seaside resident, Sandra Steppuhn (aka McGee). Following a two-day preliminary hearing, Monterey Superior Court Judge Julie R. Culver found sufficient evidence to hold Powell to answer to the murder charge.  Read more…»

The initiative would repeal the death penalty as maximum punishment for persons found guilty of murder and replace it with a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole. And, importantly, it applies retroactively to persons already sentenced to death. Read more…»

On the morning of June 9, 2016, the Pacific Grove Police Department was notified that a truck had been stolen from the 100 block of Sloat Street. At 11:30 a.m., one of the Parking Enforcement Officers observed a truck matching that description and broadcast it to our officers. A Pacific Grove Officer observed the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in the 600 block of Laine Street in Monterey. The driver of the vehicle attempted to evade the officer by driving east on Laine Street and then turning onto Reeside Ave, which dead ends at the Presidio of Monterey fence. The vehicle came to a stop when it struck the fence and retaining wall.

The driver and passenger fled on foot from the scene, ignoring the officer’s emergency equipment.

Officers from the Monterey Police Department and Pacific Grove Police Department canvassed the area and the driver of the vehicle was taken into custody by MPD officers. The passenger of the vehicle, described as a male, aged 20-30 in a gray shirt and light-colored pants is still at large.

If anyone has information about the passenger, please contact the Pacific Grove Police Department at 831-648-3143.

The suspect has been identified as Adrian Chronister and will be booked at the Monterey County Jail.